Toolholder



Amig 25 w50 F. H. MCCLERNON 2,5@5y65 TOOLHOLDER Filed Jan. 4, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet l Patented Apr. 25, 1950 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

The present invention relates to lathe turrets or tool head supports and more particularly to improved means for moving and maintaining a tool head or holder in proper operating position relative to the work, and is directed to an improved construction over what is disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 525,727, filed March 9, 1944.

An important object of the invention is to provide a lathe turret or support with a longitudinally movable and rotatable tool head having means in the form of a clutch mechanism operable to maintain the tool head in a xed position relative to the work and to rotate the tool head to present a new tool to the work, Stop means operatively associated with the clutch mechanism and the tool head serves to limit their rotary movement when moved a predetermined distance so as to present a new tool to the work.

Another object consists in associating with the tool head support, revoluble means disposed transversely of the support adjacent one end thereof and arranged when the tool head is moved to inoperative position to support the same. The

revoluble means also serves to prevent the tool head from binding or sticking to the support when moved relative thereto.

A further object compehends the provision of means for clamping the tool head support in a iixed position, and associating with the clamping means spaced adjusting screws for moving and maintaining the tool head at any desired pitch or angle so as to insure the tool being held in proper operating position relative to the work. The adjusting screws also provide means for raising or lowering the turret so that the llatter may be associated with different size lathes as the particular working yconditions require.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying claim and drawings.

Referring to the drawings in which is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention,

Figure l is a side elevation of the improved lathe turret mounted on a support and showing the parts in their operating position.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal, central, sectional view of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an end View of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along the lines 4--4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along .the lines 5--5 of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a. sectional view taken substantially along the lines 6 6 of Figure 1, and

Figure 7 is a side view similar to Figure 1 but showing the tool head and its associated parts in their inoperative position and moved away from the work.

Referring to the drawings in which like numerals indicate like parts in the several views,

.I 9 designates a lathe turret or tool head support having a base portion II (Fig. 2) provided with spaced upwardly extending arms i2 and I3 which form between them a recess It, the bottom wall I5 of which ls provided with a central orifice I6, through which extends a threaded, retaining bolt Il, the head I8 of which is positioned within the recess It. The tool head support i5] may rest on la pair of spaced, parallel members I9 that are disposed transversely of the support and are carried by a lathe base or the like 2U. The members I9 are provided on their inner opposed sides with aligned grooves 2i which slidably receive a plate 22, having a cenl tral threaded opening 23 that is connected to the threaded end portion of the bolt Il. The head I 8 of the bolt may be provided with radial openings 24 for receiving a suitable tool so as to clamp the support IB on the members I9 or release the support therefrom.

The arms I2 and I3 of the support are centrally formed with aligned openings 25, the walls of which constitute bearing surfaces for the axially movable operating shaft 26 that extends longitudinally through the support I0 and is connected at its forward end to the tool head or block 21, which preferably carries a plurality of space cutting or drilling tools 28 arranged selectively to be presented to the work. The tool head 2 has extended rearwardly therefrom a cylindrical reduced portion 29 that terminates in a substantially square indexing member or seat 3U, that is arranged to engage the adjacent side of the support I0 when the parts are in their inoperative position (Fig. 7). The opposite end of the shaft 25 has a reduced threaded portion 3| which extends outwardly from the support Ill and receive a locking nut 32. The arm I3 of the support is formed with a recess 33 in which is positioned a coiled spring 318 that abuts at its outer end a disc or ring 35, threaded to the reduced portion of the shaft 26. The disc is formed on its outer periphery with spaced circumferentially disposed notches 36 (Fig. 3)- which are arranged to equal in nuxnber the number of tools carried by the head. As shown, four cutting tools 28 are Vcarried lby theA head 2l and the same number of uniformly spaced notches 3E are formed on the disc 35. The lower end of a pawl 3'! is pivoted to the rear of the support lll by a threaded bolt 38 so that its upper end may ride on the outer periphery of the disc 35 and be moved sequentially into engagement with the spaced notches 36 to prevent further turning movement in a clockwise direction of the shaft 2t but allows its free rotation in an opposite direction. The pawl Si is 'yieldably maintained in engagement with the disc 35 by a 'spring pin 39 connected at its lower end to Ibolt 38 and has its upper end. engaging a lug il on the pawl 37 (Fig. 3).

Mounted on the shaft 26 and positioned within the recess it are operating means referred to as a clutch mechanism which preferably comprises an engaging clutch member 4l loosely mounted on the shaft 26, and which is forme with circumferentially spaced fiat projections or teeth :4Z and recesses d3, which are .arranged to engage and interiit with complementary formed projections ill and recess '45 on a receiving 'clutch member 45,thatis keyed or otherwise nonrotatably 'secured to the Vshaft Z6 as at i? (Fig. 4:). The flat projections on the clutch 'members are `preferably separated rfrom vtheir` adjacent recesses by inclined portions 8, iso as to facilitate the engagement and release of the projecting por- .'tions with their complementary recesses. Suitrably connected to .the engaging clutch member 4i as at It (li'ig.12) is an operative handle 58 vthat normally assumes the vertical position shown in Fig. 3 when the opb'osed'projections on the clutch members di and 46 are engaged (Fig. 1) so as to co-act with the xed adjacent lside wall of the arm i3 of the 'support or base lil to provide abut vting mean's'for maintaining .the tool head El? in its operative position and away from the support is. Each 'of the tools 28 extends into a slot 5l (Fig. l) Vinthe adjacent .side of 'the head 27 and each slot is formed on one Aside with 1an arcuate recess .52 which receives la segmental or curved plug 53, that is provided with a flat portion 54 that engages one side of the tool 28. A pair of space adjusting 'screws E55 extend through each side of "the multiple ltool head '2l to engage the adjacent tool 23 on the side -opposite 'the plug 53.

YThe selective adjustment of the screws act to Yniovethe tool head 28 and rotate 'the plug 53 in t'o vary the height of the tool and maintain same in the desired adjusted position relat e to the work. As shown in Fig. l, the wort: ay be a cylindrical metal block 5t the outer so. face of which isvto be formed with external threads by one of the tools 28. The block `be carried by a bracket 5l secured at 53 to the lathe base 2i).

The end of the support lil adjacent the tool head'l1 has a cut out or reduced portion es that is provided Y'at its opposite lower sides with out wardly spaced portions or flanges A5t preferably shaped as shown in Figure V5. 'The inner walls of theportions 53 Vhave parallel grooves iil`(1ig. 6) `,.itendhig the length thereof. A at bearing t provided with reduced trunnions 52 which lfit grooves tl), is positioned within a recess in the bottom Il--o'f the support it and between the portions E53. A transversely disposed roller Gil having reduced'trunnions revolubly and 'slidabiy `mounted in the grooves 5d vabove the plate iii Ais positioned 'so as to be 'spaced from the "arm l-Z'of the support (Fig. f2) and isarranged to engage and .support one side of the .square indexing or rest member 30 when the shaft 28 and the tool head 27 are moved to their operative position toward the work 56 and away from the support, to prevent binding or sticking of the tool head when the latter is moved relative to the work7 and which also reduces wear of the movable parts of the machine. When the shaft 26 and toolhead 2l are moved axially toward the support lll, the indexing member 3G is moved away and 'free from engagement with the roller 6d so that the parts are in their inoperative position (Fig. 7). Preferably, the corners of the indexing member 30 are reduced as at 66 to facilitate the rotation and proper positioning of the same. To accurately level and maintain the 'roller 64 in transverse alignment with the adjacent side 'of the member 30, a pair of adjusting screws e1 extend up through the bottom of the support i@ so as to engage the under side of the plate Si to raise or lower the saine so as to move and maintain the roller 54 in proper contact with the adjacent side 68 of the indexing B (T ig. 5).

The support l@ may be of any desired shape and sise and as shown, has its bottom or base Il .i 6) of vsubstantially triangular formation. Threaded to the base H and extending downwardly therefrom are a pair of front adjusting screws 5i) and a rear adjusting screw Til. Each of these three screws has an integral nut or tool engaging head il and a downwardly projecting ta ered portion T2 that bears vagainst a plate lf3 mounted on the top of the 'supporting members ES. The plate i3 has a central opening through which loosely extends the retaining bolt ll. It `will be seen that when the parts are assembled and the bolt il' tighten-up on the plate '22, the tool head support it will be firmly clamped in position. Should it be necessary to tilt the support to any desired angle so as to insure one of the tools 23 carried by the head 2'! being moved and maintained in proper position relative to the work, this Vernier adjustment can Ybe accoa plished by selectively adjusting the screws 't9 and 'lil to raise or lower the same which in turn moves the-support le and its associated parts in the desired direction.

The tool head support il] may be enclosed in a removable curved cover or hood 'ie that has a depending ange or front portion iii and a transverse slot ll in the top thereof through which extends the operating handle 553 of the clutch mechanism. The sides of the hood overlap the support lll and may be detaohably secured thereto by the screws i8. The hood l5 prevents foreign matter "from entering Vthe clutch mecha Aand other movable parts carried by the support and which might interfere with the eilicient operation of the device.

When the'tool head 2l and its associated parts are moved to operative position relative to the work, the projections il and it of the Yclutch mechanism are in engagement (Fig. .1) and the operating handle 5t is in its vertical position as shown in Figure 3. The indexing member Sil on the tool head is now moved away from the support l il and engages at its lower side 5B the roll-r," te. When it isrequired to move the multiple tool head 2l away from the work, the handle 'et is iii-st rotated in a clockwise direction to the position B (Fig. 3) which causes the 'projections 't2 on the clutch engaging member to interlit with the complementary recesses 451m the clutch receivingmember 66. Thetensionof the spring 3ft is now released andzmoves the 'shaft i2@ and tool head 21 away from the work and toward the support so that the indexing member 30 is free from engagement with the roller 64 and the parts assume the position as shown in Fig. 7. The clutch members 4l and 46 are now interlocked and rotation of the handle 56 in a counter-clockwise direction to position A (Fig. 3) will rotate the shaft 26 and multiple tool head 21. At the same time, the pawl 31 rides on the outer periphery of the disc 35 until it falls into one of the notches 36 that tends to arrest its further rotary movement in order to present a new tool to the work. The handle 50 is then moved in a counterclockwise direction to its vertical position which releases the projections on the clutch engaging member from the recesses on the clutch receiving member and returns the projections on the clutch members into engagement (Fig. l), thus imparting forward axial movement to the shaft 26 and tool head so as to again move the latter in operative position relative to the work. The movement of the clutch engaging member d! relative to the clutch receiving member 46 is facilitated by the inclined portions 48 of these members. The operating handle 50 may be either manually operated or connected to automatic means for causing its operation. The operation of the clutch mechanism to move and maintain the tool head in position relative to the work may be repeated and different types of tools presented to the work.

When the operating handle 50 and its associated parts are moved to the position A (Fig. 3) the projections on the clutch members are moved into the recesses on the complementary members so that manual pressure applied to the outer end of shaft 26 and the nut 32 will move the slidable shaft 26 and tool head 21 towards the work without disturbing the rotary position of the tool '28 that is in operative alignment with the work. This is an important and convenient feature since in cutting a thread with an ordinary tool holder as used on most lathes, the operator makes a cut and then moves the micrometer feed back and returns the carriage to the starting point, re* sets the micrometer feed and makes another cut. Sometimes the operator forgets the number he is working with on his micrometer feed and either moves it up too much or not enough. This either damages the work or loses valuable time. In the present invention, on the other hand, the parts are constructed and arranged so that if the operator is making a cut, he sets his micrometer on the lathe, makes a cut but instead of moving the micrometer feed back, he merely moves the operating handle 5|] from its vertical position (Fig. 5) to the position A (Fig. 5). This causes the tool head 21 to be moved away from the work but does not disturb the operative position of the cutting tool 28. The tool head 21 may now be reset and the tool locked in a xed position merely by the operator pushing against the back of the shaft 26 with the heel or palm of his hand and then returning the operating handle 56 to its vertical position which causes the projecting portions of the clutch mechanism to be moved into engagement so as to maintain the tool head in operative position relative to the work. rI'he micrometer feed is then moved to the desired amount and the cuts or threads on the work are made uniform.

The clamping connection of the tool head support l0 and its associated parts to the spaced members i9 provides means for raising or lowering the support i0 to properly position the tool head relative to the Work and also allows the tool head support l0 to be conveniently attached to different size lathes. The selective Vernier adjustment of the support lll through the three screws 69 and 16 insures the multiple tool head holder 21 and the tools 28 being tilted at the proper angle to properly contact the work. Additionally, the adjustment of each of the tools 2li by the segmental plug 53 and its coacting screws 55 provides simple and efcient means for varying the height of each of the tools 28 as working conditions may require.

The engagement of the lower side of the square indexing member 3E with the roller 64 when the tool head 21 is moved away from the support il! so as to present the tools 28 in operative position relative to the work, insures the free axial movement of the tool head and its associated parts without danger of sticking or without being subjected to unnecessary Wear.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention shown and described is merely illustrative of a preferred embodiment and that such changes may be made as fall within the purview of one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the claim.

I claim:

A tool comprising a support having spaced upwardly extending arms, said arms having aligned openings, a shaft mounted in said openings for rotational and axial movements and extending beyond said arms, a tool head secured to one end of said shaft, coacting stop means mounted on the opposite end of said shaft and the support to releasably maintain the shaft in a predetermined rotary position, spring means encircling said shaft and located between said stop means and one of said arms to normally move the tool head toward the second arm, operating means located between said arms including an engaging member mounted for rotation on said shaft and a receiving member xed to said shaft, the inner wall of said rst named arm constituting a reaction abutment for said engaging member, said members having opposed projections and recesses provided with cooperating inclined portions whereby rotation of said engaging member to align the projections axially moves the shaft against the action of the spring to advance the tool head toward the work and away from the adjacent arm, the projections having ilat cooperating surfaces to maintain the tool head in the advanced position, means for rotating said engaging member, said tool head having a regular polygonal portion in the rear thereof, a roller adjustably mounted on said support in advance of said second arm to engage and support a side of said polygonal portion when the tool head is moved to the advanced position.

FRANCIS I-I. MCCLERNON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 897,625 Keel Sept. 1, 1908 1,195,116 Smith Aug. 15, 1916 1,195,396 Newman Aug. 22 1916 1,497,307 Schneider June 10, 1924 2,251,016 Gallimore July 29, 1941 2,377,519 Rich June 5, 1945 

